If you’re looking for me, picture this food blogging mama doing the backstroke in this casserole dish! 😭I know the goal is to always put the carbs on the shelf but let me tell you about this 𝗕𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗭𝗶𝘁𝗶! I’ve never made baked ziti and now after creating my own recipe, I can’t believe I’ve waited so long! Notice the crazy punctuation? It's just that good!
There are two stars in this show; homemade marinara (with a hidden ingredient) and rigatoni pasta versus ziti! GAME CHANGER! 🚨Thanks to one of my Seattle Mama Friends, during our Friendsgiving last year she made southern style macaroni and cheese and change my new found love for rigatoni in baked dishes. It really soaks up all flavors and honestly is fun to eat. So skip the ziti and try the rigatoni and thank me later!
This homemade marinara sauce is a must. You can opt out and use store bought if you're crunched for time but if you've ever wanted to venture into making homemade marinara sauce, I think this is the perfect time to try it out! There's easy prep and you'll want to give yourself some time to let the sauce simmer as it's like wine, it gets better with time and the flavors truly develop.
In a large pot, sauté onion, garlic paste and 1 teaspoon of olive oil until translucent. Salt and pepper to taste. If adding ground meat, add while sautéing onions until cooked through. I added spicy ground italian sausage.
Add tomato paste and stir 1-2 minutes. Add tomato purée, whole tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, remaining seasonings and stir. Simmer on low for one hour (for best results 2-3 hours). As sauce cooks down and flavors develop, adjust seasonings to taste.
Cover bottom of casserole dish with a ½ cup of marinara sauce. Layer cooked rigatoni, marinara, cheese sauce and top with Mozzarella, Gouda, Parmesan mix and repeat until casserole dish is full, last layer should be topped with cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes covered. Remove cover and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is golden. (Oven times may vary)
11. Let stand 10-15 minutes, serve and enjoy!
Easy Homemade Baked Ziti
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
- .5 lb Ground Sausage Optional
- 1 lb Ground Beef Optional
- ½ Large White Onion
- 2 tablespoon Garlic Paste Minced Garlic
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Paste Chopped Fresh Basil
- 2 tsp Oregano
- 2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 28 oz Tomato Puree
- 28 oz Whole Peeled Tomato 2
- ½-1 cup Italian Parsley
- 8.5 oz Sun-dried Tomatoes Drained of oil
- 1-2 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- .5 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes Optional
- Salt + Pepper To Taste
Cheese Mixture
- 10 oz Ricotta Cheese
- .5 cup Mozzarella Cheese
- .5 cup Smoked Gouda
- ¼ cup Parmesan
- ¼ cup Italian Parsley
- Pinch Nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Salt + Pepper To Taste
Additional Ingredients
- 1 lb Rigatoni
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 cup Smoked Gouda
- .5 cup Parmesan
Instructions
Marinara Sauce
- In a large pot, sauté onion, 1TB garlic paste and 1 teaspoon of olive oil until translucent. Salt and pepper to taste.
- If adding ground meat, add while sautéing onions until cooked through.
- Add tomato paste and stir 1-2 minutes.
- Add tomato purée, whole tomatoes and remaining seasonings and stir.
- Simmer on low for one hour (for best results 2-3 hours). As sauce cooks down and flavors develop, adjust seasonings to taste.
Baked Ziti
- While sauce simmers, combine all cheese mixture ingredients in a bowl, stir and set aside.
- Prepare rigatoni according to package, set aside.
- Cover bottom of casserole dish with ½ cup of marinara sauce.
- Layer cooked pasta, marinara, cheese sauce and top with Mozzarella, Gouda, Parmesan mix and repeat until casserole dish is full, last layer should be cheese.
- Bake at 375 for 20 minutes covered. Remove cover and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is golden. (Oven times may vary)
- Let stand 10-15 minutes, serve and enjoy!
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